Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
use my PDA to maintain my calendar and sync it with my office computer, ver-
ify directions while traveling, and document my observations using the digital
notepad and built-in camera (in an unobtrusive manner). I use my PDA rou-
tinely in the Stanford University School of Medicine to document clinical
teaching. I use the PDA to record observations and take photographs of clini-
cal training activities (with permission). Then, I e-mail the notes and pho-
tographs to colleagues in the School of Medicine to verify my observations
and interpretations. Similarly, my research team members in Arkansas take
pictures of students roaming the school hallways during class time and e-mail
them to me. This enables me to know what's going on wherever I am and pick
up the phone to follow up on what I have seen. (See Masten & Plowman, 2003,
for applications of digital ethnography to understanding consumers.)
GPS NAVIGATION TOOLS
Global positioning system (GPS) navigation tools help ethnographers take the
first step in the ethnographic journey, helping them reach their destination to
conduct interviews and observations. They are built into cars and available in
hand-held models, as well as in PDAs. Similar to Internet maps (discussed
later), you type in the desired address and the navigation device locates it.
However, GPS devices also guide you to the location all along the way (with
voice, constantly updating maps on-screen, and arrows). I use GPS tools to
visit neighboring urban hospitals in my medical education research, as well as
my rural community work. These tools save time and reduce anxiety, by help-
ing the ethnographer find even the most remote community or key actor with
pinpoint accuracy in most cases.
LAPTOP COMPUTERS
The laptop computer is a significant improvement over pen and notepad.
Laptop computers are truly portable computers for use in the office, on a plane,
or in the field. I often use the laptop in lieu of pen and paper during interviews
(once I have established rapport and as long as it does not distance me from the
person I am working with). In a technologically sophisticated setting, a laptop
is rarely obtrusive or distracting if the fieldworker introduces the device casu-
ally and with consideration for the person and the situation. Laptop computers
can save ethnographers time they can better spend thinking and analyzing. They
greatly reduce the fieldworker's need to type up raw data interview notes every
